Vegetable Soup
by Entwinedlove
Summary: One-shot. / Part of the Marvelously Magical Bingo collection 2018. / "We want you to be happy too, you know." Hermione reached out and cupped Steve's jaw with her hand, letting her thumb linger at the corner of his mouth opposite the cut. His eyes came up and studied her face but she continued to look at his lips for a moment too long. AU – Muggle, Pre-WWII


Warnings: none  
Tropes: AU – Muggle, Established Relationship, Pre-WWII  
Original Release Date: 04 Aug 2018  
Square: G1 - Hurt/Comfort

* * *

It was about time for Bucky to come home from work so Hermione set aside her knitting and stood, stretching her back. She turned and tidied up where she'd been, tucking the almost-finished socks, wool, and needles into the basket she kept under the armchair. She headed to the kitchen to get started on dinner.

She grabbed a few jars of canned vegetables and set them on the counter and pulled a pot from the hook Bucky had hung it from above her head. As she was igniting the cooker burner the door behind her opened. She glanced back to see Steve stomp into the flat. It looked like he had blood on his lip again. "Hey Steve," she greeted him softly.

He offered her a smile and headed to his bedroom, most likely to take off his coat, jacket and his shoes. Hermione picked up the jar of cooked tomatoes. She gave the lid a twist but it stuck and chafed her palm. She tried again, grunting as she wrenched down on it. It didn't give.

"Need help with that?" Steve asked from behind her. She startled and turned to see he had stripped down to his braces and shirt sleeves. He smiled at her, though it looked a little painful as it pulled at his busted lip. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's all right but yes, please, if you can," she said, offering the stubborn jar to him.

He gritted his teeth as he twisted the lid but it loosened for him. "There ya go," he said as he handed her the jar. "What's for dinner then?"

"Vegetable soup." She took the jar, removed the lid the rest of the way and poured the tomatoes into the pot. "What happened this time?" She asked, letting her gaze drop to his busted lip. She also noticed that layered on top of an older yellowing bruise at his temple was a new red mark. She frowned and continued opening jars of vegetables and emptying them into the pot.

"Just a fella harassing a dame at the movie theatre."

"Did you even get a hit in?" She asked. Now that the soup was warming, she rummaged around in the cupboard and pulled out a little glass bottle of Merthiolate.

He shrugged and leaned against the table to be still for her to dab the pink antiseptic at his lip. "Yeah, I got a few licks in but the main thing is I got him to stop bothering her."

"Mission accomplished then," she replied. He winced as she dabbed the medicine at the cut. "Anywhere else?" She closed up the bottle and set it on the table behind him.

"Nah." She eyed his temple for a moment and he added, "Nothing else is bleeding. Just some more bruises that's all." As he was speaking, the door opened again and Bucky stepped in.

"More bruises?" he asked, jumping right into the conversation. "And here I thought I taught you how to punch." He smiled and stepped closer to kiss Hermione on the cheek. "Hey, sweetheart."

She stepped closer and wrapped her hand around his coat lapel. He grinned and kissed her properly on the mouth. She hummed contentedly. He stepped back and his grin was mischievous. She rolled her eyes at him and turned away, feeling a blush steal over her cheeks. She glanced at Steve who was pointedly looking at the floor smirking. "Go get out of your coat, Bucky."

"Only if I get another kiss when I come back," he teased.

"I'll think about it," she said as evenly as she could without smiling. She couldn't hold the look long and giggled before he was through the door to their bedroom. She turned back to Steve. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he said, looking up at her. "I'm happy he's happy." She could hear the loneliness in his words, though, and it made her heart ache for him. It was only due to Bucky's charming nature and good dancing skills that had vouched for Steve for him to get any dates at all and all that had stopped when the two of them got married.

"We want you to be happy too, you know." She reached out and cupped his jaw with her hand, letting her thumb linger at the corner of his mouth opposite the cut and pink-tinted skin from the medicine. His eyes came up and studied her face but she continued to look at his lips for a moment too long. She only removed her hand when the bedroom door opened and Bucky came back into the room. Hermione turned and picked up a spoon to stir the soup. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, giving her a quick squeeze and then turned to sit at the table next to Steve.

"So what was it this time?" he asked.

Steve answered him, reiterating what he'd told her about the fellow bullying a woman. They chatted a few minutes, Bucky reminding Steve of a few things when it came to throwing punches, including that there's no shame in backing down. Even Hermione shook her head at that. When Steve got into fights it was because he felt it was the right thing to do. Not doing anything and continue to let the bullies and harassers do what they were doing? Not on Steve's watch.

Hermione tasted the soup and added some salt and pepper before pulling out three bowls to serve it. During dinner, Bucky kept giving Hermione that mischievous smirk from earlier and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Finally, when she had got back up to wash the dishes and put the leftovers in the icebox, he finally said what was on his mind.

"I'm going to tell him."

"Bucky!" she said, twisting to look over her shoulder at him despite her hands in the dishwater.

"Tell me what?" Steve asked, looking back and forth between them. "Are you two... pregnant?"

Bucky's head tipped back as he laughed and shook his head, so mirthful in his laughter that he tipped his chair back on two legs and had to catch the lip of the tub under the table to stop himself from falling.

"No," Hermione confirmed. "We're not. Bucky's just being... rude."

"I am not!" he said, his chair back on four legs. "But last night was the third time you brought it up, so I thought..." he grinned again and Hermione wanted to sling soapy water at his handsome face to get him to be quiet. She just shook her head and turned her back to them, too embarrassed to say anything more.

"If you want me to... I don't know, leave, when you two are... I promise I don't listen... I..." Steve seemed to pick up on where Bucky might be leading the conversation but it was in the opposite direction.

Hermione took a deep breath as Bucky laughed again, more teasing this time. She blurted it out instead, unable to take his dragging it out. "We want you to join us." She didn't turn around to look at them but the kitchen went very quiet after she said it. Bucky had stopped laughing and Steve had stopped attempting to apologise for nothing. She took the moment to dry her hands on her apron and push a curl behind her ear before she turned around to look at them. Steve was staring at her with his mouth open and his eyes wide like he couldn't comprehend what she was saying and Bucky was looking back and forth from Steve to Hermione like he was proud of them.

"What?" Steve asked, still slackjawed and confused.

"We want you to—"

Steve seemed to break out of his stupor and shook his head quickly, "No, no, I mean, I heard you but... why?" His brow furrowed and he glanced down at himself in a gesture that Hermione read very clearly. Why would she be interested in him, in that small, bony, often sickly body when she shared a bed with three-time-welterweight-boxing-champion Bucky Barnes?

"Because we love you, pal," Bucky answered. He'd probably read that look just as clearly as she had.

Hermione stepped closer and hooked her fingers under one of Steve's braces and pressed her lips against his. It took him a moment to respond but he did. She opened her mouth to encourage him to deepen the kiss but he didn't. So she did. She licked at his lips and he made a little, startled sound and huffed like the sensation tickled but he opened his mouth for her. While she kissed Steve, she felt Bucky's hands at her lower back untying her apron. She felt the fabric slide away from her skirt and one of his hands followed. When he pinched her bum she pressed a little harder into Steve who pulled back and winced.

"Sorry," she apologised, glancing at the cut on his lip.

"S'okay," he answered, leaning forward to kiss her again. He stood from his chair without moving away from her, and it skidded across the floor and against the wall. It was very different kissing Steve than it was Bucky. For one, she didn't worry about him having to hunch his shoulders to kiss her, she could—and did—reach up and put both of her hands on the back of his neck. For another, he was very gentle with her, not that Bucky wasn't, but they'd been together for a couple years now and he knew her. Knew what she could take and how sometimes she liked it when he was a little rough with her.

Steve and Bucky's hands overlapped on her waist and Steve pulled back from their kiss to look at Bucky. He started to pull his hands away but Bucky was quick to catch his wrists and return them to where they were. "It's okay," Bucky said softly, she felt his breath on her neck before he tipped his head and kissed the skin there with an open mouth. He scraped his teeth against her and she closed her eyes and let her head tip the other way to give him more room to work. Hermione's hands slipped from Steve's neck to his shoulders and his hands tightened on her waist. He stepped closer into her space, pressing himself against her, and sought her mouth once more.

Bucky pressed against her backside and sucked at the skin of her neck. She moaned at the sensation and he huffed a little laugh into her skin. "Like that, huh?" he teased.

Because Steve was still occupying her mouth she hummed, "uh-huh."

One of her hands had migrated to Steve's side and she squeezed to encourage him. Instead, he pulled back with another wince.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Just a bit tender."

"Where all did that guy hit you?" she asked.

Bucky pulled her hips back into him and ground against her before nipping where he'd been working at the love bite. "Let's go into the bedroom and you can show us," he told Steve.

Steve audibly swallowed but nodded and Bucky directed Hermione's steps by her hips, gently pushing her towards their door. When she got to it and Steve hadn't taken a step to follow, Bucky let go of her and grabbed him around the bicep to guide him.

Hermione went into their bedroom and pulled the curtain over the window. Although they were on the third floor, that window did lead out into the fire escape and children lived in their tenement. Wouldn't want them peeking in. With the curtains closed, the light in the room was dim. Instead of closing the door behind them, Bucky left it open so the light from the kitchen would help illuminate the space. It was one thing making love in the dark with just the two of them, adding a third person would make things a little more difficult and having light to see by would be helpful.

"I never got that second kiss, by the way," Bucky said, soft and low as he reached out for her with the hand not holding Steve close. She went into his arms and kissed him, letting him take control. His kiss was rougher than normal, a sign of his excitement, and she felt as he pulled Steve behind her and directed his hands to the buttons at the side of her skirt. He fumbled with them for a moment before realising what Bucky was trying to get him to do.

While Steve unfastened her skirt, Bucky worked at the buttons of her blouse. As her skirt fell to her feet, he pushed her blouse over her shoulders to let it fall to the floor as well. He pulled back from their intense kiss and whispered, "I like this one," running his hands down her sides and over her hips, his callouses catching on the material of her black slip. She stepped out of her clothes pile on the floor and smiled even as she turned her back to him to kiss Steve again.

"I know," she said. Steve looked a little dumbfounded and Hermione found the expression adorable. She reached out and grabbed his hands and put them on her breasts. "Touch me," she said.

He obeyed her command with exceedingly gentle touches over her slip and brassiere. She wiggled her bum at Bucky who had knelt to run his hands up her legs to pull her knickers down. He nipped at her bum through her slip in retaliation.

Steve stared at her breasts while he touched her and she used the opportunity to unfasten his braces and unbutton his fly. His trousers dropped to the floor with a swoosh and his blouse slipped from where he'd tucked it, covering his shorts. She stepped out of her knickers and then each of her socks for Bucky and reached for the buttons on Steve's shirt. When the shirt was off and he was down to his vest and shorts she stepped back to lower the straps of her slip.

"Let Steve do some of the undressing, Hermione," Bucky directed and then used his hands at her hips to spin her around so her back was to Steve so he could work on the fastenings of her bra. She reached out and started undressing Bucky while he worked. He was down to his vest and shorts by the time Steve finally figured out how to remove her bra and the instant it was off, Bucky had dropped to his knees to mouth and lick at her breasts through her slip. The straps were still down her arms so she couldn't move very much but she could reach back to hold at Steve's hip. She might have dug her fingernails into his skin through his clothes but he got the hint and pressed himself against her. She moaned at the heady sensation of having both of them touch her.

She turned her head just enough to kiss Steve again and he ground his cock into her bum as he met her lips. Bucky bit one of her nipples and she reached forward as best she could and pinched his arm in retaliation. He pulled back to chuckle. "Sorry, doll." He reached up and pulled the straps of her slip down her arms the rest of the way. The cool air of their flat made the damp skin he'd been kissing pebble and Bucky returned his attention to her breasts, reaching back to grab one of Steve's hands and guiding it to touch the one his mouth wasn't on. Steve's touch was light and exploratory and it sent even more goose pimples racing up her exposed skin. "Mmm, yes," she murmured. Both of them responded with vocables of assent.

After several long minutes of well-devoted attention to her breasts, it was Steve whose hand trailed down her stomach and pubic hair to the space between her thighs. His attention to their kiss flagged as his touch became even more exploratory there and Hermione pulled away from their kiss to lay her head back on his shoulder and widen her stance to give him room to touch wherever he wanted. She let out a soft encouraging whimper when he touched the sensitive spot above her opening. His exploration had caught Bucky's attention and he leaned back to watch Steve touch her. He was more patient than she expected as she watched him. When Steve's fingers pressed at her opening and slipped inside where she was slick he groaned and Bucky smiled. She rocked her hips forward a little to get Steve to stimulate her like she liked and he pressed his lips to her shoulder. He copied the motion both with his own hips and his fingers and then whispered, "Like that?"

"Mmhmm."

Bucky leaned forward and licked at her where Steve's hand wasn't touching and then she felt his hands join Steve's. "Hold her open, like this," he said and then his mouth was on her and she rested more of her weight back on Steve who stumbled a little. He righted himself, planting his feet more firmly and all three of them laughed a little, releasing some of the nervous tension that had been gathering between them.

Hermione's hands came up to run through Bucky's hair as he pleasured her with his mouth and when he did something she liked she tugged a little at it. He focused on that with enthusiasm until she was rocking back against Steve and forward into Bucky's face steadily.

She gasped when she peaked and her hips stuttered in their rhythm but Bucky's hand on one hip and Steve's on the other kept her rocking between them. She tugged hard on Bucky's hair to get him to back off but she hadn't needed to, he was starting to stand. He leaned forward and she opened her mouth to meet his kiss but he didn't kiss her, he kissed Steve over her shoulder. Both she and Steve made opposing little whimpers, hers in short-lived disappointment and his in surprise. The kiss didn't last very long but when Bucky pulled back Steve looked completely wrecked by it. She and Bucky shared a grin before shifting to rearrange themselves again. She tugged on Bucky's vest and he stripped the rest of the way down. While she climbed onto the small bed he must have reached for Steve to strip him as well.

Hermione licked her lips at what she saw. They were both handsome to her. Bucky in a more traditional sense—she'd been complimented by many an old biddy about the handsome, charming man she'd snagged as a husband—and Steve who's slight frame belied his enormous heart and courage. Even in the dim light, though, she could see the bruising on Steve's torso where it was starting to turn purple.

"How do you..." Steve started to ask as he looked at her and then at Bucky, "What... I mean..."

Bucky licked his lips and then grinned cheekily. "Well, we could do this a lot of different ways and we could always change it up if one of us isn't happy about the arrangement. I was thinking you could be between her thighs while she puts her mouth on me."

Hermione enjoyed giving Bucky suckjobs because he was very vocally appreciative of her efforts so she nodded but Steve looked reluctant.

"I shouldn't, I mean, what if I...?" he frowned and made a vague motion with his hand that might have been referencing ejaculating. Bucky rolled his eyes and climbed onto the bed beside Hermione to dig in the bedside table.

When he found what he was looking for he dropped the little paper package on her stomach. "We've got merry widows, don't worry about it." He also pulled a small package of K-Y lubricant and a handkerchief out and set them on the bed. Steve still hadn't come closer and Bucky seemed to watch him for a moment before asking, "Do you know how to put it on?" From the way Steve's eyes widened, the answer was no.

Bucky got up from the bed and went around behind Steve, resting his hands on his hips and stepping close. "Is this okay?" he asked. Steve nodded but he might have tensed under Bucky's hands because Bucky asked another question, "Do you want to do this? We can do something else if you want."

"I want to," Steve answered, even quieter than before. Bucky moved him forward until they were both kneeling between Hermione's thighs and she watched as Bucky reached around and stroked Steve's cock. She found the scene deeply erotic as Bucky touched Steve and put some lube on him before taking the condom out of the sleeve and rolling it on to him. The entire time, Bucky was whispering in his ear too quietly for her to hear.

When the condom was on, Steve turned his head and kissed Bucky sloppily before reaching out to touch Hermione's thigh. He scooted further up the bed and positioned himself but stopped short of penetrating her to look up at her. "Is this, I mean, are you..."

She smiled at him, loving that he got so flustered when talking about sex. "I'm swell..." she raised her hips, canting them a little to hopefully make it easier for him to come into her. He did, a little hesitant at first, but once he got the angle right he slid in smoothly. Hermione closed her eyes for only a moment, moaning something that might have been his name at the feeling of him inside her.

She felt him shudder and opened her eyes to see him above her with his vibrant blue eyes wide. "Bucky..." he muttered.

Bucky answered with a hum that sounded like his mouth was busy but she couldn't exactly tell what he was doing to Steve. Steve hadn't moved since he'd come into her, though, and that was her primary focus. She shifted under him, squeezing at him with her internal muscles.

"Oh, oh," he said. He got the hint and started up a slow rhythm of retreat and return.

Hermione bit her lip. "Mmm." She moved with him and watched his face in the low light. He looked like he was concentrating very hard, like each movement he made was calculated and planned. She leaned up to kiss him. Steve had a little trouble focusing on kissing with everything else going on and Hermione took pity on him and pulled back. "What's he doing?" she asked.

Steve's mouth opened and closed once, he swallowed, and then seemed to realise he was staring at her lips and directed his gaze to her eyes instead. "Kissing... and touching and..."

She smiled and stretched out one of her legs to see if she could touch Bucky. He caught her foot and rubbed at her instep with one hand for a moment.

"What are you doing, Bucky?" she asked.

She heard a slurp sound like he was pulling his mouth away from skin before he answered. "Giving him a love bite... and massaging his ass. Hmm," he vocalised a speculative noise, "I'm tempted to..."

Steve stiffen above her, his careful rhythm completely gone and his eyes wide. "Buck?"

"Is this okay? Tell me if you're not okay with it."

"I'm okay... it's just, you're gonna make me shoot off if you don't stop." Steve said. She could feel how tight he was holding his muscles above her and as much as she was enjoying herself as he took his time with her, Hermione couldn't help but rock a little underneath him; his arms tightened around her shoulders. "I don't... not... don't wanna just yet."

"Okay," Bucky said and must have ceased whatever he was doing because Steve relaxed.

He lowered his head to her shoulder and breathed heavily for a moment. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologise for, Stevie," she said. She could just make out his grin before he nodded and tried to hold himself back over her. He winced and slipped to his elbows.

"Hey, Steve, why don't you sit back on your heels, huh?" Bucky said as he situated himself beside their heads. "Unless you want an in-your-face-tutorial for suckjobs?"

Steve tilted his head and raised one of his eyebrows at Bucky, even going so far as to open his mouth and eye Bucky's cock, but then he blushed scarlet. He backed up and slipped from Hermione while he changed positions and when he was moving back into her, Bucky tapped her on the side of her mouth with his cock.

"Want this, dollface?" She smiled and turned her head, taking him into her mouth as best she could at that angle. "Mm, yes," he murmured as his eyes fell shut. Hermione hollowed her cheeks and worked over him, paying special attention to the corona and his foreskin just the way he liked. As she expected, what followed was softly spoken, continuous praise for her mouth, her tongue, even her existence. After a few minutes, he reached down to touch where Steve was joined with her. He found the extra sensitive spot he'd devoted so much loving attention to earlier and stroked her there in a steady and slow manner.

Between the added stimulation from his hand to the deliberate way Steve's cock was rubbing inside her, Hermione thought she might peak a second time. She hummed and met eyes with Bucky, who was watching her with reverence.

Steve's rhythm faltered and the breathy moan that escaped him as he shot off had Hermione squeezing tight around him to prolong his pleasure. He pulled from her and leaned against her raised knee, panting. He glanced up and shared a smile with her before letting his gaze slip back down to watch her pleasure Bucky.

Bucky's litany of praise had slowed and his hips had started rocking faster. Hermione pulled away from him and nipped at him with her lips over her teeth. He stopped and rolled his eyes, "I know, I know. Hey, Stevie?"

"Do I need to move?" he asked, seemingly unsure of his place with them again.

"Only if you want to. I was wondering if you'd hand me that handkerchief over there?" Bucky said, pointing at a spot Hermione couldn't see next to her hip. Steve handed it to him and Bucky shuffled down to lay on his side beside her, resting his head on her shoulder. He started stroking himself. "Kiss me?"

She obliged and kissed him as he brought himself to climax over her hip. He cleaned her up and tossed the soiled handkerchief off the bed. He took a deep breath and yawned, "I'm done for." He glanced between her and Steve before pillowing his face against Hermione's shoulder. "Bedtime," he said, closing his eyes. The smirk on his lips gave away his teasing.

"I guess I should go..." Steve muttered, stumbling back from the bed.

"Only to toss the condom in the rubbish and turn off the light, then you're coming right back. I didn't get my fill of kisses and caresses yet." Steve coughed a little in embarrassment but headed into the kitchen to do as she said. While he was gone she pushed lightly at Bucky's shoulder. "Get up, it's cold and I want to get under the covers."

He did and offered his hands to her to help her up. "Was it what you wanted?"

"More. It was so much more."

He smiled. "Good. I'm glad I brought it up, then. Are you really not done?" He asked, moving around her to pull the covers down and slide into the bed against the wall.

She followed as the light in the kitchen turned off and Steve shuffled back into the room.

"I saw some bruises that needed tender kisses that I didn't get to before." She reached out and grabbed Steve's hand and tugged so he joined her.

"The bed's too small," he muttered.

"We'll make it work," Bucky said and Hermione got started on leaving fluttering, light kisses all along Steve's temple, jaw, and ribs. They would make things work and that meant taking care of their Steve when he jumped into ridiculous situations because they were the right thing to do.


End file.
